Classic Goosebumps #13: Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine

Author:R.L. Stine [STINE,R.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-545-29648-9
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 1992-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

12

Josh was so startled, the flashlight tumbled from his hand and clattered onto the street. The light flickered but didn’t go out.

By the time Josh had managed to pick it up, our pursuer had caught up to us. I spun around to face him, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Ray! What are you doing here?”

Josh aimed the light at Ray’s face, but Ray shot his arms up to shield his face and ducked back into the darkness. “What are you two doing here?” he cried, sounding almost as startled as I did.

“You — you scared us,” Josh said angrily, aiming the flashlight back down at our feet.

“Sorry,” Ray said. “I would’ve called out, but I wasn’t sure it was you.”

“Josh has this crazy idea about where Petey might be,” I told him, still struggling to catch my breath. “That’s why we’re out here.”

“What about you?” Josh asked Ray.

“Well, sometimes I have troubling sleeping,” Ray said softly.

“Don’t your parents mind you being out so late?” I asked.

In the glow from the flashlight, I could see a wicked smile cross his face. “They don’t know.”

“Are we going to the cemetery or not?” Josh asked impatiently. Without waiting for an answer, he started jogging up the road, the light bobbing on the pavement in front of him. I turned and followed, wanting to stay close to the light.

“Where are you going?” Ray called, hurrying to catch up.

“The cemetery,” I called back.

“No,” Ray said. “You’re not.”

His voice was so low, so threatening, that I stopped. “What?”

“You’re not going there,” Ray repeated. I couldn’t see his face. It was hidden in darkness. But his words sounded menacing.

“Hurry!” Josh called back to us. He hadn’t slowed down. He didn’t seem to notice the threat in Ray’s words.

“Stop, Josh!” Ray called. It sounded more like an order than a request. “You can’t go there!”

“Why not?” I demanded, suddenly afraid. Was Ray threatening Josh and me? Did he know something we didn’t? Or was I making a big deal out of nothing once again?

I stared into the darkness, trying to see his face.

“You’d be nuts to go there at night!” he declared.

I began to think I had misjudged him. He was afraid to go there. That’s why he was trying to stop us.

“Are you coming or not?” Josh demanded, getting farther and farther ahead of us.

“I don’t think we should,” Ray warned.

Yes, he’s afraid, I decided. I only imagined that he was threatening us.

“You don’t have to. But we do,” Josh insisted, picking up his speed.

“No. Really,” Ray said. “This is a bad idea.” But now he and I were running side by side to catch up with Josh.

“Petey’s there,” Josh said. “I know he is.”

We passed the dark, silent school. It seemed much bigger at night. Josh’s light flashed through the low tree branches as we turned the corner onto Cemetery Drive.

“Wait — please,” Ray pleaded. But Josh didn’t slow down. Neither did I. I was eager to get there and get it over with.

I wiped my forehead with my sleeve.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.